Brown signs bills to help California women, families

Kathleen Ronayne, Associated Press

Updated 5:14 pm, Thursday, October 12, 2017

Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, AP

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FILE - In this June 22, 2016 file photo, Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, right, urges lawmakers to approve her measure to exempt tampons and other feminine hygiene products from sales tax as co-author Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang, R-Diamond Bar, looks on in Sacramento, Calif. California women will have more tools to fight pay discrimination, more resources to buy diapers and pay for childcare and more opportunities for parental leave under bills signed by Gov. Jerry Brown. less

FILE - In this June 22, 2016 file photo, Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, right, urges lawmakers to approve her measure to exempt tampons and other feminine hygiene products from sales tax as ... more

Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, AP

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FILE - In this Sept. 29, 2017 file photo, California Gov. Jerry Brown gestures while speaking in San Francisco. California women will have more tools to fight pay discrimination, more resources to buy diapers and pay for childcare and more opportunities for parental leave under bills signed by Brown. less

FILE - In this Sept. 29, 2017 file photo, California Gov. Jerry Brown gestures while speaking in San Francisco. California women will have more tools to fight pay discrimination, more resources to buy diapers ... more

Photo: Eric Risberg, AP

Brown signs bills to help California women, families

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California women will have more tools to fight pay discrimination, more resources to buy diapers and pay for childcare, and more opportunities for parental leave under bills signed Thursday by Gov. Jerry Brown.

"California is not just about Silicon Valley, it's not just about agriculture, it's not just about Hollywood — it's about families and kids," Brown said before signing the bills outside a Sacramento center that provides resources for homeless women.

The 26-member legislative Women's Caucus championed the nine bills aimed at improving the lives of California women and families, with several focusing on victims of domestic violence. They are broad in scope, aimed at helping women in the workplace and at home.

"California is once again leading the way when it comes to helping women who need it the most," said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzales Fletcher of San Diego.

One bill requires small businesses employing between 20 and 49 people to offer 12 weeks of unpaid maternity and paternity leave to employees, giving new parents assurance they can stay home with their children without being fired. Existing state law only imposes that requires for larger companies.

Another workplace-focused bill bans employers from asking applicants about their past salaries. That builds on a 2015 law signed by Brown making it easier for women to push for equal pay.

Several other bills focus on health and wellness. Among them is a requirement that public schools with high populations of low-income students provide free tampons and menstrual products in women's and girl's restrooms. Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, chair of the Women's Caucus, has dubbed herself the "tampon queen" in her fight for the bill.

"I've heard from young girls across the state who miss school on a regular basis because they can't afford these products," Garcia said.

A bill by Gonzales Fletcher will allow low-income women on public assistance to get up to $30 a month help to buy diapers for children under three. Brown vetoed a similar bill last year.